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Prayer Request of August 20, 2010
I invite you to pray for us and visit us during the Fall of 2010, as we undertake to grow Columbia Hope Church. I sincerely believe that with God’s help, and continued, diligent effort on the part of our Members, Leaders, Prayer Partners, Friends, Staff, and Clergy, Columbia Hope Church will grow into a program-size or resource-size congregation that radiates God’s love into the community of Columbia, through ministries of mercy, justice, compassion and advocacy. This fall is the time for us to make a significant leap of faith into that vision. I know God “is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20). I feel the loving presence of Jesus in our midst every day; I trust that He intends to transform our dynamic, little seed of a church-plant into a large, vibrant, missional, spiritual home for hundreds of people. May God begin that Christ-like transition this fall! May we allow ourselves to be “transformed by the renewing of [our] minds,” so we may discern what is the good, acceptable and perfect will of God for Columbia Hope Church (Romans 12:2). If you have never worshipped with us on Sunday at 10:30 a.m., I invite you to come, be our guest, and see if this may, indeed, be the right place for you to work on creating your spiritual home with God. I look forward to seeing you in church, and I thank you, in advance, for your prayers!
Pastor’s New Phone Number
PASTOR’S NEW PHONE NUMBER
I have a new cell phone number: 573-489-7744. Please feel free to call me on this number beginning Wednesday, March 17, 2010. My old number (573-529-1178) will continue to be available for about 24 hours, while I notify the congregation and friends of Columbia Hope of this change. Of course the land-line at the church remains the same: 573-449-1178. You may call me at the church any time and leave a message, and my Administrative Assistant, Ms. Erika Buford, will pass your message along to me. No matter which way you choose to contact me, I appreciate your call and it is important to me. I look forward to talking to you.
New Leadership Team
We have a new Leadership Team at Columbia Hope. It is comprised of the following people: Julia Chang, Nathan First, Brittany Ashcraft, Dennis Crouch, Lyn Williams, Scott Gibson, Linda Bullock, and Ray Batt. This past Sunday, August 23rd, this team, several staff members and I went out to lunch with our church planting coach. We held this lunch meeting at Los Cabos, which is a brand new, Mexican restaurant directly across the street from Columbia Hope’s temporary church building. The Leadership Team had an excellent chance to converse with the Rev. John Adler, our church planting coach from Fort Myers, Florida. John was visiting for the entire weekend, to give us support, guidance, encouragement, advise, and lots of love. I feel encouraged that the Leadership Team is off to a wonderful start in its role of nurturing our congregation as we grow. Please pray for each member of this new team, as well as our dedicated staff members: Tamara Oberbeck, Byron Molix, Lydia Cecora, Chris Vitt and the Rev. Janet Schisser, our Deacon. I also honor, thank and pray for many other Columbia Hope leaders, who are active in various ministry roles!
Summer Wedding
August 1st was a very blessed day for me: Rex Alan Morgan and I were united in the sacrament of Marriage at Columbia Hope Church at 3:30 p.m. God blessed us with a nice, cool weekend. While we felt a few sprinkles before the ceremony, when we emerged from church as newlyweds, the sun was shining! To us, our marriage liturgy was magnificent. Many of our new parishioners delighted us by taking on leadership roles in planning and carrying out the liturgy. The children of the congregation took leadership by learning the spiritual “Peace Like a River,” which they and other children sang to us with hand gestures as a wedding gift! The service was conducted by the Rt. Rev. Wayne Smith, Bishop of Missouri, who came to Columbia with his wife, Mrs. Debbie Smith, for this special occasion. Numerous friends and acquaintances from all around Columbia blessed us with their presence. And many of my colleagues from the Diocese of Missouri, our regional group of congregations, enjoyed coming to witness our vows.
November 2008
Dear Friends,
In mid-November of 2008, God blessed us with an awesome opportunity to learn from our friends in Fort Myers, FL. I traveled to Florida with a team composed of Tamara Oberbeck, Jonathan Sessions and Byron Molix. We spent a long weekend at a church called Iona-Hope Episcopal Church. Tamara concentrated on learning about community groups, and Jonathan and Byron concentrated on putting technology to use in congregational life. We all attended three services over the course of the weekend, and spent lots of time in conversation with various parishioners. The whole visit was highly educational.